(Washington, DC) — Movie theatre attendance is dropping significantly below historical norms. According to a Gallup poll, Americans watched an average of just over one-point-four films in a movie theater over the last 12 months. A majority of those surveyed didn’t visit a movie theater at all. Sixty-one-percent said they haven’t been to a theater in over a year while only nine-percent attended five or more films. In comparison, between 2001 and 2007, U.S. adults watched an average of almost five movies in a theater, with only 32-percent reporting they saw zero. Three in five Americans have not seen a movie in the past 12 months, which is widely blamed on the COVID pandemic. The industry is also competing with at-home steaming options as well as habits developed over the course of the pandemic keeping folks at home.
In-theater movie attendance is down across all demographics when compared with 2007 figures. Those in the 18 to 29 age group saw nine movies a year on average, compared to just three in 2021. In 2007, those 30-years-old to 49 saw four-and-a-half films while last year they saw one.
